First of all I want to thank you for the outstanding guides. I can't wait to use the XP installation guide when I get my new computer.

I have a questions about the stability testing. I'd like to run those (FAH, Prime95, Motherboard Monitor's Heat up, Sandra, 3DMark03, Aquamark) programs, but I'm a little hesitant. Is there a chance that any of these will cause damage to my cpu, motherboard etc.? Is it wise to run these when you're not sure if you have enough fans installed etc. ?

What CPU do you have? The P4 is supposed to have a "thermal protection" feature that cuts back if your CPU gets too hot.

It's not like you will never run your CPU at 100% power. I'm sure whatever CPU you have, if you ask the manufacturer, they will say that it is designed to run at 100% power.

With that said, have people cooked their CPUs by OVER-CLOCKING them? You betcha. But most people simply return these fried CPUs and say, "Duh, it quit working. Not sure what happened." And get a new one.

If your not overclocking, then I see nothing to be concerned out. If the CPU cannot handle 100% power, it's not worth its weight in silicon. Before it friesd, it should give you errors, or lock up, or reboot.